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Hard Cash

Nasreddin Hodja owed some money to a neighbour. The neighbour had asked for his money numerous times to no avail. One day he was at the Hodja’s door again.

“Hodja Effendi, when are you going to pay my money back?”

“Look!” Nasreddin Hodja pointed out to a spot in his garden, “I planted shrubs over there.”

“So?”

“They will grow this tall by spring.”

“And?”

“All the sheep that pass by will brush against the shrubs and their wool will get caught by the prickly bushes.”

“Yes?”

“Then we will collect the wool from the shrubs and my daughter will spin them into yarns. I will take those yarns to the bazaar and sell them. With the money I get, I will pay you back. At this remote and unlikely solution, the neighbour had nothing to do but laugh.“You see,”the Hodja said when he saw the lender laughing, “your mood improved when you saw cash on the nail.”